The Department of Justice Tuesday said that Tom Barrack (Thomas Joseph Barrack), the former chair of President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee, was arrested and charged with conspiring to act as an agent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and lying to investigators.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Barrack used his influence in the Trump campaign to advance policies favorable to the UAE at the direction of UAE officials between April 2016 to April 2018.
On June 20, 2019, Barrack voluntarily met with FBI special agents. During the interview, Barrack allegedly made numerous false statements, including falsely denying that Alshahhi had ever requested that he take any actions on behalf of the UAE, DOJ said.
In a seven-count indictment, unsealed in a New York federal court Tuesday, “Thomas Joseph Barrack, 74, of Santa Monica, California; Matthew Grimes, 27, of Aspen, Colorado; and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, aka Rashid Al Malik and Rashid Al‑Malik, 43, a UAE national, are accused of acting and conspiring to act as agents of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018, “ DOJ said.
The indictment also charges Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 20, 2019, interview with federal law enforcement agents, “the Justice Department release said.
Barrack and Grimes were arrested Tuesday morning and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in the Central District of California, DOJ said. Alshahhi remains at large.
The Justice Department said Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, aka Rashid Al Malik and Rashid Al‑Malik, 43, a UAE national, was also arrested.
According to court documents, between April and November 2016, DOJ said, Barrack served as an informal advisor to the campaign of the candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Between November 2016 and January 2017, Barrack served as Chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Beginning in January 2017, Barrack informally advised senior U.S. government officials on issues related to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Barrack also sought appointment to a senior role in the U.S. government, including the role of Special Envoy to the Middle East. Barrack served as the Executive Chairman of a global investment management firm headquartered in Los Angeles, and Grimes was employed at the firm and reported directly to Barrack. During the relevant time period, Alshahhi worked as an agent of the UAE and was in frequent contact with Barrack and Grimes, including numerous in-person meetings in the United States and the UAE.
“The defendants repeatedly capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to a candidate who was eventually elected President, high-ranking campaign and government officials, and the American media to advance the policy goals of a foreign government without disclosing their true allegiances,” Mark Lesko, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in the release. “The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former President. Through this indictment, we are putting everyone — regardless of their wealth or perceived political power — on notice that the Department of Justice will enforce the prohibition of this sort of undisclosed foreign influence.”
(This is a developing story and will be updated)
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